NASHVILLE — Few people understand the Tennessee Titans organization quite like former general manager Ran Carthon. He joined me on 104.5 The Zone to break down the Jeffery Simmons trade, which sent the star defensive tackle to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick.

Carthon understands the move. I’m still having a hard time accepting it.

Ran Carthon sees the logic behind the Jeffery Simmons trade

Carthon admitted he was shocked when the news broke Wednesday. He knows what Simmons means to the city, the state, and the organization. However, he also noticed chatter linking Simmons to Chicago picking up steam the night before.

His reasoning is simple. If Tennessee wants to rebuild through the draft, Jeffery Simmons was the one asset capable of bringing back that kind of capital.

“You have to understand that the record is the record with Big Jeff,” Carthon said. “And that’s not to take away from any way that he’s been playing. He’s been playing dynamic, still one of the best, if not the best, at his position in the league. However, I think the realism of it all is that you were more than a Big Jeff away from being able to be consistently competitive.”

Carthon called the compensation a great haul and described the deal as an all-in push from Bears general manager Ryan Poles, Borgonzi’s former colleague. He also explained why a team that isn’t shopping a player needs an overwhelming offer to even get a conversation started.

“Now, from the GM perspective, when you’re not shopping players, you got to treat it like the Godfather movie, right?” Carthon said. “Don Vito says, hey, I’m gonna make him an offer they can’t refuse, and that’s what it takes.”

Carthon has lived that from the other side. During his tenure, another general manager called about a player the Titans weren’t shopping and came in with a lowball offer. Carthon compared it to a stranger knocking on his door and making a market-value offer on a house that isn’t for sale.

When I asked him to blink twice if that player was Derrick Henry, he didn’t need to.

“No, it was 100% [Derrick],” Carthon said.

He wouldn’t reveal the team or the offer. Henry, of course, ended up in Baltimore.

Mike Borgonzi deserves a fresh evaluation, according to Carthon

My problem with this trade has less to do with the value and more to do with how the Titans got here. This front office has had two offseasons to repair the roster. Instead, it made significant mistakes and backed itself into a corner, leaving no choice but to move the best player on the team. That talent will be difficult (if not impossible) to replace, and nobody cares about the Titans the way Jeffery Simmons does.

I’ve seen this movie before.

Carthon pushed back. When Borgonzi was hired, Brian Callahan was still the head coach. Every free agent and draft pick in that first cycle was acquired to fit Callahan’s offense and Dennard Wilson’s defense. Then Robert Saleh arrived with Brian Daboll, and the defensive fit changed entirely.

“So basically, if you’re GM Mike Borgonzi, you’ve really truly only had one true player acquisition period in terms of free agency and the draft with Robert Saleh and what they want to build moving forward,” Carthon said. “And I think now is where you truly start to determine whether they’re making the right moves or not.”

Does that explanation have merit? Absolutely.

It also puts the spotlight squarely on what comes next. Borgonzi will be judged by what he does with the draft capital Chicago just handed him.

Cam Ward needs stability more than anything

The bigger question for me is quarterback Cam Ward. I can’t imagine Tennessee trading Simmons, even for this kind of compensation, if the organization is truly all in on Ward. The production simply hasn’t been there yet.

Carthon disagrees. He pointed to the resources the Titans have already spent around Ward, including a top-5 receiver this year and changes along the offensive line. He also pointed to how many systems Ward has had to learn, going from Incarnate Word to Washington State to Miami to Nashville.

“That’s like 4 to 5 different offenses he’s had to learn in consecutive years,” Carthon said. “Like, what he needs is stability. He needs stability.”

Carthon tied Ward’s inconsistent footwork back to that constant turnover. He also reminded everyone that draft classes typically aren’t judged for three years.

“So he’s not even in his third year,” Carthon said. “And I still think that we’re being a little bit premature.”

Stability has never exactly been a hallmark of the Titans. If Saleh’s staff stays intact, Ward gets a second straight offseason in Daboll’s system for the first time in years. Whether Tennessee can finally give him that will go a long way toward deciding if trading away Simmons was the start of something or just another rebuild.